A Little Love for the Two Week Wait

by Stephanie Fry

Hard to say which part of The IVF Journal is my favorite but Chapter 9 – the chapter dedicated to the dreaded Two Week Wait is definitely a front runner. Call me crazy but by the end of my time cycling I actually grew to like, ok not hate, the Two Week Wait.

I know, I know. NO ONE likes the Two Week Wait. But hear me out.

In the beginning this new found affection took me awhile to figure out. I was out of my comfort zone – the one where I dreaded, loathed and despised the Two Week Wait. The one where every moment, every minute felt like an exhausting eternity.

But slowly and with practice I realized something: the Two Week Wait was my time. During the Two Week Wait – I was in control.

Not in control of the outcome of my cycle of course but for the first time since my cycle began there were no surprises. No new information. No last minute changes. No expectations. For the first time in the cycle – for ten whole days I knew exactly what to expect. This, surprisingly, brought a real sense of relief.

Another bonus was that I could plan to fill the time in a manner that I wanted.

So I did.

I planned and crafted and cooked and read and traveled and cleaned and socialized and painted and ran errands. Lots of errands.

Doing all these things – some I was familiar with, some I was not, had an unexpected side effect. I got to know myself. I learned about my likes and my dislikes. I figured out how I really like to spend my time. I learned about what really makes me happy.

A surprising silver lining from all that waiting.

I also spent a lot of that time creating the worksheets you will find in Chapter 9. I love the worksheets in this chapter because they are really flexible. They are completely customizable and can and should be used in many different ways. They are a place where you can let your personality – your likes, dislikes, feelings, desires and needs take center stage.

And maybe, just maybe they will help you start looking at the Two Week Wait as more than the torture chamber that it often feels like. As a time when you can really put yourself first, practice some self-care or just get to know yourself a little better. As a time when you can rest, take a break from the shuffle of a cycle and just be you.

Here is a bit from Chapter 9: Channeling Your Inner Bee to Survive The Two Week Wait

“WELCOME TO THE “Two-Week Wait”: That time between your transfer and your pregnancy test famous for being a slow-moving torture. Grab a seat, kick off your shoes and get comfy; you’ll be here for a bit!

While most IVF patients have already experienced a few Two-Week Waits during their infertility career, this one may feel slightly different. Combine the physical rigors of cycling (and getting up at all hours for the past few weeks) with the hangover from the hormonal cocktail that is IVF, and you may find yourself pretty exhausted. It also doesn’t help that after the relatively rapid fire pace of stimulation through transfer comes to a close, IVF cycles by nature, go from a flurry of activity to an abrupt halt. There are no more daily calls with the clinic; no more monitoring appointments or procedures; just two long weeks of nothing but progesterone to look forward to. This vacuum can make an IVF Two-Week Wait feel like an eternity and can put you in a position where you need to emotionally readjust, again.” – The IVF Journal